Collapsible boat



A. McNElL.

COLLAPSIBLE BOAT.

Amm/mon FILED 10u58. ma.

Patented May 13, 1919.

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A. MCNEIL.

COLLAPSIBLE BOAT-I APPLRCATION FILED JUNE 8. 191B.

Patented May 13, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. McNElL. coLLAP'slLE son.

Patented May13,1919.

l APPucATlor men muss. Isala. 1,303,700.

PATENT OFFICE.

U ANG'US MCNEIL, OF GLOUCESTER, MASSAGEUSEI'IJTS.`

Specification of Letters Patent.

`COLLAISIIBIIE) BOAT.

`Patented May 13, 1919.

Application area .frime s, 191s. serial No. 238,993.

To all wwm t may concern:

Be it known that I ANeUs MGNEIL, a citizen of the United gtates of America, and resident of Gloucester,in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and' useful Improvements in Collapsible Boats, of which'the following `is a s ecification. i o

his invention relates to collapsible boats and more particularly to life boats intended to be collapsed into compact form when not in use. i

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a collapsible boat which isA rigid and substantial vwhen extended' for use, which can 'be collapsed in-to a rrelatively small space when not in use, which can be extended or collapsed quickly and easily, and which is comparatively light in weight.`

The cardinal features of the invention are as follows: The sides of the boat are constructed of flexible waterproof material and are held in extended position by arcuate ribs and gunwales extending longitudinally of the boat and being pivotally supported at their opposite ends so that they may be swung together to collapse the sides. The sides are held in extended position by spreaders pivotally supported on upright posts mounted on the keel, the spreaders being arranged to swing into the vertical centrali longitudinal plane of the boat to collapse y the boat an-d being shaped to the verticalv transverse contour of the boat so as toengage the longitudinal ribs and hold the sldes ein. extended position when swung outwardly.

The spreaders arelarranged to engage the 'gunwales and hold them in extended. Pos1- tion vertically as well as laterally. Trans- .i verse seats are hinged at theiroppositel ends i to a pair ofthe longitudinal ribs and at their centers are jointed so that they will fold into the vertical central longitudinal `plane of `the boat when Vcollapsed., The seats also serve to hold they sides of the boat in extended position and are preferably supported at their centers by the vertical posts to which the spreaders are hinged. Floor sec tions may be hinged to the keel so as tofold upwardly into the kvertical central longltudr' nal plane of the boat when the boat is colla sed. Y y

lilhe preferred embodiment of my -invenf drawings, in which,m

tion is illustrated Jin the accompanying Figure lis an elevation ofthe forward and central portions of the boat, the rear portion being omitted inasmuch as it is similar to the forward portion;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the portions of the boat shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a central transverse section of the boat looking forward;

Fig. 4: is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the boat collapsed.

The embodiment lof my invention illustrated in the drawings comprises, in general, a keel 'K which preferably consists of a rectangular wooden beam, a `bow-stem B, a stern-post (not shown), which is similar to the bow-stern, both the bow-stem and stern post also preferably consisting of wooden beams, collapsible sides C of canvas or other material rendered impervious to water, gun wales G and `ribs R pivotally mounted at their opposite ends on the bow-stem and stern-post respectively as will be described hereinafter, seats T, spreaders S hinged to spreader posts P, and door sections F.

Theribs R are Vbow-shaped and are pivot'- ed or mounted in bearing members 1 secured to the bow-stem and stern-post respectively. These bearing members may be secured to the bow-stem. and stern-post in any suitable manner and in the drawings I have shown wood lugs 2 for fastening the members.

l Theupper bearing member to which the upper ribs are connected is bent over the top of the bow-stem as illustrated in Fig. 2 and the over-hanging flange 3 is secured to the bow-stem byl means of lugs 4. The other bearing members 1 extend laterally from the bow-stem and are provided with openings in their lateral extensions to receive the ends of the ribs,the ends of the ribs being bent into alinement with the openings 5.l The upper bearing member is provided with openings (.5 to receive the ends of the upper ribs. The gunwales G are mounted along theinside of the upper ribs and are preferably formed of rectangular `wooden pieces the ribs prefen ably being metal rods or tubes, he canvas ysides C. aresecured to the` keel by meansof metallic plates 7 which are secured to the keel by means of rivets `8 andthe sidesA are folded inwardly over the upper' ribs between ers S hinged te posts P. 'The posts P are secured to the upper side of the keel K at suitable intervals and maybe braced by rods 12.l Thespreaders S are formed of rods or tubesinto the shape shown which comprises `'vertical ,portions 13, curved portions 14 of substantially the same contour as the side of the boat when extended, and horizontal portions 15, the portions 15 having extensions ldbent upwardly and extending through loops 17 at the ends ofthe portions 14 and thence lsomewhat beyond vthe loops 17. The

Y vertical portions 13 are pivotally secured to the opposite sides of the post P by means of bands 18 and 19 surrounding the post P and the vertical portions 13, these bands being secured to the posts 'by' means of rivets 20 passing through the central portions of the bands and posts. The loops 17 at the outer end of the spreader are bent'inwardly at substantially; 90 degrees so Vas to provide shoulders adaptedlto support the gunwales when the boat is extended. The portions 16 of the spreaders preferably extend slightly above thegunwales so that rings 21 secured to the gunwales by staples 22 may be placed over the' projecting ends of the portions 16 i of the spreaders to holdthe parts together.

, The seats T are pivotally connected to the 40` second pair of ribs at their outer ends by means of hinges 23 and are jointed inthe middle by means of hinges 24 so that fthe two halves of each seat may swing downwardly when'the boat. is collapsed. y The seats are notched or recessed at the outer ends" as indicated at 25 in Figs. 1 and 3 to receive the. upper ends of the spreaders. fIn this ,vvay the seatscan be. disposed in the vertical transverse plane of the spreaders and may be supported on the spreader posts P.

7 `While any' desired number of spreaders andseats may be provided the boat illustrated in the drawings has three seats and :two pairs of spreaders, a pair of spreaders being assoeiatedwith each ofthe end seats but not with thel middle seat. vEach pair of spreaders is disposed'on the side of the cors responding seat facing toward the'center of the boat and when the boat is collapsed both pairs ofspreaders swing toward the center of the boat.fv In order to support the middle vseat at its center inthe absence of spreader postsP Iprovide a supperting'post P especially for this purpose.

' The `floor sectionsF are pivotally connect# ed to the upper side of the keel by means of double hinges 26 so as to swing upwardly into the vertical central longitudinal plane of the boat. The floor sections may rest at their outer ends upon pairs of ribs as shown in Fig. 3 or they may be supported at their outer ends directly upon the sides of the boat or in other suitable manner.

To collapse the boat the operation is as follows: The rings 21 are removed from the Vprojecting endsv of the spreaders, the floor sections are folded upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 4, the spreaders are then vswung inwardly about their vertical axes into the position shown in Fig. 4 and the Vsides of the boat may then be collapsed into the positiony shown in Fig. 4, the seats T automatically folding into the position shown in Fig. 4. To extend the boat the operation is substantially reversed; the sides are swung voutwardly into the position shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the'spreaders are swung outwardly into extended position and at the same time the shoulders formed by loops 17 are forced mider the gunwales, thus more positively supporting the gunwales and holding them in proper elevated position. The rings 21 are -then placed over the projecting` ends of the spreader-s and the floor sections swung downwardly, when the boat is ready for use.

I claim:

1. A collapsible boat comprising flexible sides, a bow-stein, a stern-post and arcuate rods for holding the sides in extended posit-ion, the bow-stein and stern-post having fore-and-aft openings and the ends of the rods being bent to extend into the openings.

2. A collapsible boat coniprisiirg` flexible sides', va bow-stem and stern-port, collapsible ribs extending between the bow-stein and 'stern-post for supporting the sides, and spreaders for holding the ribs in extended position, each of the spreaders comprising a rod bent into a loop having upper and lower horizontal portions and an outer portion bent toconform to the transverse contour of the boat.

3. A collapsible boat comprising flexible sides, a keel, a bow-stein and a stern-post at opposite ends of the keel, collapsible Yribs extending` between the bow-stein and sternpost for supporting the sides, a vertical post mounted on the keel in the central longitudinal region of the boat, and spreaders pivotally mounted on said posts to swing about vertical axes into said region to collapse the boat and into the vertical transverse plane of said post to hold the ribs in extended position.

4'. A collapsible boat comprising a keel, a bow-stem, a stern-post, gunwales pivotally connected to thebow-stem and stern-post to swing downwardly alongside the keel, and spreaders pivotally mounted to swingabout vertical axes disposed in the centralE longibow-stem, a stern-post, longitudinal ribs and gunwales pivotally connected to the bowstem and stern-post to swing downwardly alongside the keel, and spreaders pivotally mounted to swing about vertical axes disposed in the central longitudinal region of the boat, the spreaders being arranged to exert an outward force on the ribs and an upward force on the gunwales.

7. A collapsible boat comprising a keel, a bow-stem, a stern-post, longitudinal ribs pivotally mounted on the bow-stem and sternpost to swing downwardly alongside the keel, a vertical post mounted on the keel, spreaders pivotally mounted on the vertical post to hold the ribs in extended position, and a seat connected at its outer ends to a pair of said ribs and jointed in the middle so as to fold downward-ly when the ribs are swung down, the seat being disposed over said post so as to rest on the post when the boat is extended.

8. A collapsible 'boat comprising a keel, a bow-stem, a stern-post, longitudinal ribs and gunwales pivotally mounted on the bowstem and stern-post to swing downwardly alongside the keel, a vertical post mounted on the keel in the central longitudinal region of the boat, spreaders pivotally mounted on the said vertical post to swing about vertical axes into said region to collapse the boat and into the vertical transverse plane of the vertical post to hold the ribs in extended position, the spreaders having upright portions at their outer ends to support the gunwales,

and a seat connected at its outer ends to a pair of said ribs and jointed in the middle so as to fold downwardly when the ribs are swung down, the seat being disposed over said post so as to rest on the post when the boat is extended and the seat having re cesses into which said upright portions of the spreaders extend when the boat is extended.

9. A collapsible boat comprising a keel, a bow-stem, a stern-post, longitudinal ribs pivotally mounted on the bow-stem and sternpost to swing downwardly alongside the keel, a vertical post mounted on the keel, spreaders for holding the ribs extended, the spreaders being pivotally mounted on said vertical post to swing about vertical axes, a seat connected to a pair of said ribs at its outer ends and jointed in the middle so as to fold downwardly, the seat being arranged to rest on said vertical post when extended, and iioor sections pivoted to the keel so as to swing upwardly into the vertical central longitudinal region of the boat, the parts being arranged so that the spreaders may be swung along opposite sides of the floor sections when the floor sections areJ swung upwardly and so that the seat li'olds over said vertical post when the boat is collapsed.

10. A collapsible boat comprising a keel. a bow-stem, a stern-post, longitudinal ribs pivotally mounted on the bow-stem and stern-post to` swing downwardly alongside the keel, a vertical post mounted on the keel, spreaders Jfor holding the ribs extended, the spreaders being pivotally mounted on said vertical post to swing about vertical axes, and floor sections pivoted to the keel so as to swing upwardly into the vertical central longitudinal region of the lboat, the parts being arranged so that the spreaders may be swung along opposite sides of the floor sections when the floor sections are swung upwardly.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 31st day of May, 1918.

ANGUS MGNEIL.

`Copies of this patent may be obtained for. iive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

